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After serving as the Director of Research in the Graduate Programs in Counseling at Southern Nazarene University from 2003 to 2014 and as an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology and Counseling there from 2012 to 2014, I returned to the University of Central Oklahoma (where I was an Assistant Professor from 2007 to 2012) as an Associate Professor in 2014.

The Crossroads Research Lab (which spanned both UCO and SNU) focuses on predicting interpersonal processes from intrapersonal ones. Within this goal, there are three main areas of research.

One line of current research involves the content and structure of knowledge about both the self and relationship partners. Some studies focus on the stability and consistency of evaluative organization as well as potential vulnerabilities that are associated with organizational preferences. This research is also interested in how cognitive and relational aspects of the self-concept (e.g., evaluative organization of self-knowledge, self-discrepancy, self-complexity, and attachment) change over the course of psychological treatment.

A second line of research examines processes associated with adult attachment. I am interested in the relationship between different types of attachment (e.g., parents, partners, and God) as well as how attachment can be used as a mediator between (or explanation for the relationship between) children experiences and long-term psychological and relationship consequences. Finally, this research examines individual differences in attachment and the relationship outcomes associated with them (such as among players of massive multi-player online games).

A third line of research investigates the psychological characteristics of law enforcement personnel, especially regarding predictors of resiliency following trauma. The research is interested in examining the role of social support in the process of healing - specifically, identifying aspects of social support crucial to each officer's success.